A t-shirt is a t-shirt..... Am I right?

Well a t-shirt has a collar, two arm holes and no buttons so, insofar that this is true, the statement is correct.

But look a little deeper and you find that the variety is enormous:

Crew necks, V-necks, deep V-necks.....
Short sleeves, long sleeves, three quarter sleeves, no sleeves......
Loose fit, tight fit, lady fit.......
Light weight, medium weight, heavy weight, layered.....
Cotton, vintage cotton, organic cotton, bamboo, polyester, polyester / elastane etc etc

- and that's before we start considering the trivial details of colour!

So for promotional wear, should you be thinking beyond "t-shirt"? And if so what will the drivers be?

How often will the shirt be worn?

Some t-shirts will be worn once. We'll hate to suggest they are then discarded, but it happens. Here it normally makes sense that the t-shirt is an economy light weight cotton fabric. But if these t-shirts are to be worn again and again - the more built in quality in the fabric and the printing the better because after all they promote YOUR company or cause. A more resilient heavier weight might be a wise investment.

How warm is the climate?

Although there is normally a correlation between weight and ruggedness, some light weight fabrics are long lasting. So if it's going to be hot, perhaps a better investment is in fabric quality rather than weight.

And then there's humidity. Perhaps the wearers are to be engaged in sporting activities? This needs to be taken account of in making a choice and there are quick dry t-shirts now available made from fast wicking 100% textured polyester that will in some circumstances be a more comfortable alternative to cotton.

Do you want to fuss about size?

If distributing many t-shirts and you don't know who is to be turning up, then it's a good idea to invest in t-shirts that look good on many differently shaped people. Some styles need the right fit to look good, others are far more tolerant.

What exactly is being printed?

When it comes to printing, using plastisol or water based inks, cotton gives safe, predictable results. that said, any fabric making up a promotional wear t-shirt is likely to be suitable for most applications but it's good to take advice for unusual size, shape or colour designs.

What's in fashion?

The t-shirt manufacturer with the longer tighter style will tell you one thing, the one with the shorter looser cut another! But it's a t-shirt, and as long as the cut is right and fabric is quality, it will look good. Think about the range of people who will be wearing it; high fashion does not necessarily work when it comes to promotional wear.

What are your organisation's ethical policies?

Taking account of everything that precedes this question, have you also taken account of the stated ethical policies for purchasing of the organisation that you work for? They may not be communicated well or you may not think they mean it. But if some embarrassing publicity is going to be directed at your organisation because you've made the decision to purchase from a source that is at best obscure in its ethics then it may be you that carries the can.

And the wearer's ethics?

Now we are getting to the core of the business decision. The promotional wear is likely to carry two logos - yours and (unobtrusively to everyone except the person who wears it) that of the t-shirt maker. And quality wise, the recipient may have an adverse reaction to something they perceive to be a throwaway garment.

How about your ethics?

If the purchase decision is yours and you'd be be fussy about what you bought for yourself then why not apply the same principles in buying for your company? The arguments for buying ethically are strong and it need not cost materially more than other options. You'll probably be easily able to justify the cost differential to anyone who questions you!

And if you really want to impress?

Buy organic cotton for it's environmental ethics and its kindness to skin. Or bamboo, for its ethics and its feel of luxurious softness.

There you have it. A t-shirt is not a t-shirt. It's a statement about you and the extent to which you consider the people who wear it. If this all makes the decision too complicated then a quick discussion with our team here at Pier 32 will soon help you out!

Starworld Organic collection ready to roll....

A few weeks ago we reported the news that Starworld, our supplier of ethically sourced t-shirts from Egypt, were about to introduce a whole new range of organic t-shirts and other promotional clothing.

Well, knowing that Africa is a place where things can move just that little bit slower at times, we were getting a little concerned that we would not be able to launch as and when we intended. And we were right, but only a couple of weeks later than originally expected we have the new Starworld catalogue in our hands and have updated our website to reflect that fact that we can now deliver these "fair price" organic t-shirts into our clients' hands.

Alongside clothing from Okarma and Continental that now gives Pier 32 buyers the choice of 3 distinct ranges of organic clothing. If you are feeling too spoilt for choice to make your mind up, don't worry, get on the phone, we are here to help!

New Organic T-Shirt Range from Starworld

We are excited to be able to soon expand our organic options when Starworld, our Egyptian supplier from whom we purchase most of the ethically produced T-shirts, Hoodies and other cotton garments that we supply, make available a range of organic garments.

The new range is going to be tagged "Fair Price" organic and will be made from the finest 100% organic cotton fibres - "The garments are 100% organic - we do not use cheaper 'organic: in conversion' fibres - only fully certified organic cotton" say Starworld. Indeed, the shirts are to be certified to GOTS (the Global Organic Textiles Standard) by the internationally respected Netherlands based Control Union.

Starworld is a manufacturer that have supplied Pier 32 with ethically manufactured t-shirts for many years. They insist that no corners will be cut to achieve a "Fair Price" and that price will enable the promotional clothing buyer, who has previously assumed that to look at the organic option is cost prohibitive, to think again. "We know that there is a growing demand for organic cotton promotional wear in the wider marketplace: printers and embroiderers are interested in promoting organic alternatives, and their customers want to buy organics. However, those customers are still working to budgets that rule out the highly priced products from most other suppliers. Affordability is key, and that's just what the Starworld Organic Cotton range delivers".

The Starworld Organic Cotton range of T-Shirts and other promotional clothing will be available from March 2008. Look out for the forthcoming update of our site!

Ethical brand profile - Okarma

At the niche end of the market for promotional clothing lies Okarma which brings to the market a small range of organic t-shirts, hoodies and polo shirts. Like Continental it is 100% organic but it goes further in that none of the cotton used is organic cotton in conversion. It is a small company operating out of Devon (a county now advertising itself to tourists as the home of the green lifestyle in the UK - home incidentally to our printing presses). Its cotton is grown in India.

Okarma sets out on its website that it:

• is Control Union (SKAL) certified organic
• is GM free
• is OKEO-TEX 100 certified
• is ethically produced
• is environmentally friendly
• has a transparent supply chain
• uses bio-degradable packaging

On the issue of fair trade, Okarma sets out on its website:

"From farm to factory, our organic cotton is inspected, evaluated, labelled and stored with complete traceability and transparency of procedure. Furthermore we have committed to long term partnerships with each of our suppliers, and we use our influence to seek fairness in the workplace, with improved conditions and wages for everyone involved in the different stages of manufacture."

Unlike the biggest brands in clothing with their detailed policies on ethical trading and the supply chain and multi-layered inspection programmes, one suspects that one has to rely on close contacts and assurances with Okarma. In the organic industry one anticipates there will exist a healthy regard for the rights of human beings as well as the environment however in the absence of inspection programmes one cannot know it 100%.

We carried out a quick search on the web to see if there might be any skeletons in the closet for Okarma. Nothing came up. So in providing our customers an organic and ethical t-shirt choice Okarma seems to be a good brand to go with. Ask for it by name or look for it in our Clothing Directory.

(As for any of the brands that we profile, we welcome comments and especially evidence that may affect our opinion.)

The Climate Neutral T-shirt

"The humble T-shirt - the most basic canvas for communicating a brand name, corporate identity or political slogan, has become the environmental product"

Thus spake Continental Clothing who have just come up with the Climate Neutral T-Shirt (which Pier 32 are pleased to able to supply). These T-shirts are manufactured with power generated from wind and solar power and combined with the use of low impact organic cotton and other climate sensitive measures such as containerised ocean shipping, carbon emissions per T-shirt by up to 80-85% reduced compared with T-shirts measured by conventional methods.

More good news (as you can tell from the image) is that it's not just T-shirts - there are hoodies and polos too.

See the Climate Neutral Apparel website for more information or see the continental organic T-shirt selection on our website.

Bamboo - not just for pandas

For a long time known as the only food favoured by pandas, and more recently as a garden favourite, Bamboo is just emerging as a fabric that is truly in fashion, with softness to rival silk. Aware of its desirability and environmentally friendly status, we have started supplying Bamboo t-shirts here at Pier 32.

Written from the point of view of the fashion industry and examining the fabrics eco-credentials, this in depth article from the organic-clothing blog gives a detailed account of many aspects of this new sustainable and eco-friendly fibre.

Helping farmers convert to Organic

One of Pier 32's main suppliers is Continental, a promotional clothing company based in the UK, with which we have recently set up ties.

We are very pleased with our choice because they have recently announced that their entire range is to be either made from organic cotton or "organic cotton in conversion".

So what's this 'in conversion' tag? It's important because it identifies a product that is not quite the same as pure Organic Cotton. It identifies fabric from farmers who are especially in need of support - those who choose to convert their crops from chemical production methods to those that are organic. These farmers have chosen to forsake the use of chemicals and unfortunately find themselves in limbo, unable to use the Organic label until their soil is free of all traces of chemical residues. However their cotton is not sprayed with pesticides, they no longer use chemical fertilizer and they use natural methods of pest control.

By buying products made from "organic cotton in conversion" you support these farmers at a time when their businesses are most vulnerable. If they cannot make the conversion because of financial constraints then the land is in danger of being sold and/or going back to the use of chemicals. Continental explain more in this article on Organic Cotton.